Garage floor living…yes/no?

[secuono]

My buns live in the attached garage[[dogs/cats will attach them if their in the main house]] with our two big aquariums and where the dogs sleep. I was wondering if I made them runs, could they be directly on the cold concrete?

I’ve had guinea pigs on concrete with cardboard on the floor, but they got sick from it and died. Maybe there was a draft or their naked feet made them more susceptible? This is a new house, so the garage is a little different.

Anyway, I found two buns out escaped running around. Luckily no cables chewed or any fights. Thus I’ve been wondering with their larger size, fur feet and ability to get back into their cage, can they have run of the garage and be ok?

I was hoping to get wire fencing and making a large area fenced and letting a bun out into the area one at a time to play in. The area would go down along the 12ft in front of the cage row and go out maybe 4ft. I may divide it in half at 6ft to have two buns out at a time, since the cages are two long cages divided into 3 each.

What do you guys think?

Below is a picture I drew of the cages. Top is the current setup. Left cage[1] empty, 2 Tsunami, 3 Daisy, 4 Pearl, 5 Stella & 5 Cricket. Cricket is getting a new home, hopefully soon. This will allow for the bottom picture setup.
Left cage[1] Tsunami, 2 Daisy, 3 Pearl & 4 Stella.

[GrumpyBun]

I think, if carefully planned, garages can make great bunny rooms.

I presume there are no vehicles kept in the garage? Draughts are a no-no: buns do not react well with them. You would need to make sure the garage was draught free. Draughts are often more noticeable at floor level. I don’t know of any problem with the buns being on concrete as long as they have plenty of soft flooring as well – perhaps some scatter rugs or sea grass mats? Cardboard – which you mentioned would be great too. You would also need to check for sore hocks periodically as it is a harsh flooring. I’m sure you know this as you have them penned in a row but you would need to have two barriers between them to prevent fighting through bars.

I’m sure that you will get loads of advice from other members on the board. From this post I think you are demonstrating a desire to improve your buns lives, therefore you must care for them! I hope I’m right and I also hope we can help – I know this board helps me continually make things better for my boys.

[secuono]

No cars, one door never opens, it’s broken and the 90gal aquarium is in the way. The other door also never opens, but that’s because we don’t have an opener for it. We only have a car in there if we need to fix anything[rarely.]
No idea if there is a draft. I am in there all the time, don’t think I’ve felt one.
It’s hardware cloth, so the holes are far too tiny for them to hurt each other. Some of them even nap against the same divider wall and nap together.

[MirBear]

Mine live in the garage. I have blankets and flanel back table cloths on the floor. I do not recomend cement, until summer and even then, still have a portion with blankets, if you notice they prefer blankets then use them.

[bunnymum16]

i turned my garage to a bunny play place since i dont have a car anyways.to take care of the draft from the garage door,my boyfriend sealed all the openings and then taped it for double protection.i bought bunch of rugs so they dont have to walk on cold cement.they love staying in there.i even put a bed in there so i could relax with them.

[bunnymum16]

my bunny Ninja prefers cement for some reason.he always pushes the rugs and blankets and flops on the cements.

[LBJ10]

My concern would be traces of chemicals on the cement. Even if you haven’t spilled anything, the people living there before could have.

[MirBear]

Posted By LBJ10 on 01/08/2011 04:39 PM
My concern would be traces of chemicals on the cement. Even if you haven’t spilled anything, the people living there before could have.

 

another good point, i still recomend laying something down over the cement , its will be good for the overall safety.

[KatnipCrzy]

Since you are not going to able to bond them- there is not much point in having a run where they can possibly access the other bunnies in the cage.  If you have a bunny in each run (out of their cage)- of they are bored they will try to scrap thru the pen divider and then also might try to get by the other bunnies in their cages to start something with them.  They will be very territorial and will likely mark the area- but if it is something that you can easily clean- that will not be too much of a deterrent.  I just think you will have thru the bars territory squabbles.

You should set up the runs further away from the cages and separate from each other to prevent fighting.

Other than that- I am not familiar with outdoor bunny set ups- but the cages looked pretty narrow- they are 3ft by ???

[LizzieKnittyBun]

I would strongly urge covering every inch of the concrete that would be accessible to the bunnies. It’s a very abrasive surface, and bunny feet are nowhere near as tough as dogs’ paws… they can get torn up easily, especially the hocks. That concrete would tear off the fur and the skin of that delicate area, and then you’d end up with bleeding and possible infection.

Cardboard is a good temporary solution, but they’ll eventually eat it. You can buy carpet by the foot at many pet stores, but it’s often of a low quality and may end up giving the bunnies “rug burn” if they’re are running around on it.

Also, as KatnipC said, they’ll be territorial because of their intact reproductive organs. There’s likely to be a lot of spraying going on, so you’ll need something that is easily washable.

Would it be possible to cover the garage with linoleum? It’s very easy to clean, but also very smooth and would be much safer on soft bunny legs.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

That’s scary about the buns getting out while you weren’t there! I would be extra careful to secure the male. He literally only needs *seconds* to impregnate a doe.

[FluffyBunny]

Concrete can be just fine for bunnies. One of my bunnies lived in a room with a concrete floor for about 1 1/2 years with very few issues.
If there’s any uncovered concrete, keep it very clean and non-dusty. Also, keep a close eye on your rabbits’ back feet to make sure they’re not developing sore hocks.

Since you’re going to have multiple unneutered/spayed bunnies hopping in the pens, there will probably be a lot of scent marking in them. I wouldn’t recommend putting any rugs or towels in those pens. Also, make sure that all of the barriers between the cages are very secure – it’s definitely not fun to discover your unbonded bunnies in the same cage!

2-3 feet is quite small for a bunny cage, so make sure that they get plenty of time in the pens or running around the garage.

[secuono]

Made their run, Cricket popped out but stayed under the cages, so I put her back in.
Opened Stella’s door, she just kept sniffing, closed her door.
Opened Tsunami’s door, he came out and is now out exploring.

[secuono]

Went up to get pictures, but my camera battery died. So waiting for it to charge.
I put up a temporary run. Put down a couple towels, box of hay, box with cardboard padding & a bowl of water. So far Cricket, Tsunami, Daisy & Pearl have been out. Pearl is out right now. Daisy & Pearl both know where their cage is and how to get back in. I’m putting a small box in front of their door for them to hop out on and then down. Pearl is having the most fun out of all of them.
Going to try to let Stella out again after Pearl’s time is up. Hopefully, I will have pictures by then, too.

[Deleted User]

You could just build on huge run, not attached to the cages, and give each bun a turn in it. Concrete flooring can be nice on a hot day, but detrimental in the winter because it retains moisture, so in the winter you might like to put down a sheet of plywood.

[secuono]

[angie-la]

if you want, you can go to a carpet store or warehouse and ask for their scrap pieces of carpet. it’s super cheap [maybe even free, depending on how nice the people are haha].

[Deleted User]

The white portion of the pen looks to be a little short too me, maybe it just seems that way in the photograph. My rabbits would figure out to jump out of there, and if dogs are present they may push this portion in. I would reinforce it, and increase the height there.

[secuono]

The only rabbit that can/could get out is the Holland Lop. She is hopefully going to her new home Friday!
The other buns are Lionheads and much smaller, at least half it seems. The dogs[and cats] are not allowed in there unless I am in there. The cats are still totally confused as to what rabbits are, the dobie listens to me, but just wants to eat all the fresh poops! He whines and cries until I let him in to ‘sample’ a few, lol! He could care less what the rabbits do unless they run into him or sniff a leg too close[he is very touchy feely sensitive.]

[Otti]

Honestly, their individual cages look too small to me for them to be in them for any significant length of time. It looks like they only have a few square feet to themselves whenever they are not let out in the run one at a time.

You also only have one metal grid in between the bunnies, which I should think would be effective enough in terms of them reproducing (have you confirmed their genders yet?). However, all your rabbits are nearing sexual maturity or already there, and very soon they will start to exhibit possibly violent territorial behavior towards each other if they are not fixed (which you indicated you are not going to do, right?). That single piece of mesh grid between each cage area is definitely not going to be enough to protect the rabbits from each other if they decide to get violently territorial. It’s not something that only happens with certain rabbits, it’s a normal and frequent behavior for unfixed rabbits that have reached sexual maturity.

If you want your rabbits to be safe and have a healthy environment, you’re going to have to enlarge the space they have individually available to them at all times, and also provide better protection for them from each other while they remain unfixed. I’m not trying to attack you, but that’s my view of what would be best in terms of their housing.

Not to get back into this, but there are definite health and behavioral benefits to spaying/neutering. You might think it’s very expensive to get done, but it’s much more expensive to deal with female rabbits who develop uterine cancer (and you have mainly females). Females have an 80% chance I believe of developing uterine cancer if unfixed. You’re setting yourself up for much more serious costs this way.

[Deleted User]

Smaller rabbits, such as lionheads, can still clear unexpected heights. Even if they don’t jump out now, they may in the future, especially when they get settled in more. I didn’t mean to say that your other pets would necessarily hurt the rabbits, but that a dog can push in the white side of the pen, even just to get to their enticing droppings, and a rabbit could escape that way. Of course, if you are there to supervise these are all non-issues.

[MirBear]

Lions i’ve found jump higher then any other rabbits. My girls binky over their 48″  pens. No Problem.

[mocha200]

if you can’t get i higher pen you can put a sheet or tarp over the pen and clip it on with cloths pins.

[secuono]

Unless you guys want to send over some money so I can make the cages bigger or ‘double up’ cage walls, it’s just not going to happen, sorry.
Cricket is going to her new home Friday[lady has been wanting a house rabbit for years and has finally gotten the opportunity to do so. Will get updated pics of their ‘neighborhood’ later the same day.

Tsunami has testicle sacs, 1 has come in, the other not yet. Others don’t have this and they are all either 4mo or older.

[MirBear]

Personally, i have never had luck with those, only thing i have luck with, is increasing their space, when twix is allowed out for the day, or is she has a double pen (what she’s in now) then she doesnt jump out, however hershey cannot be contained.. by ANYTHING.. that little fur ball is a force of nature

[secuono]

They still are getting used to the sounds and smells of the garage. Most of the time when I look in to see how they are, the bun is under the cage or close to it. I also do check in on them often. Plus, the little dog has supersonic ears and she barks whenever they make a sound in there, lol.
I’m selling the 90gal that’s in there next month. Moving the 40g soon too, so there won’t be any live cables for them to get to.

 

They are new to all this space, they had small, shared cages in their other home. So I am also hoping that they will be content with all this new found freedom for at least some time, lol.

[Otti]

Well if it’s a cost issue like you were saying there are ways around it. You can look into low cost spaying/neutering by asking at local rabbit rescues. You can also look into whether there are rabbit-savvy vets in your area that would be willing to work out a payment plan for you. You could start saving a little each month now, since you don’t necessarily need to get them all fixed now. You could also look into specific credit cards that exist for pet expenses, that allow a much longer time to pay the debt back before incurring any charges.

Like I said, you might think spaying/neutering is expensive, but dealing with a wounded bunny from territorial behavior, a possible unexpected litter, or a rabbit with cancer would be potentially much much more expensive. Since the statistic is that a female rabbit has an 80% chance of developing cancer if unfixed, what are you going to do if one of yours does? You have four so you have a pretty good chance one of them will.

I completely understand having restricted financial means, but that’s when it’s important to be realistic about your capacity of properly providing for pets (including their health related expenses and housing) before deciding to acquire so many at one time.

[Deleted User]

it would not cost you to use some extra wire, which you must have left over from building their wire hutches, to reinforce the white section where it attaches to the black panels.

You can increase the height by wiring panels of cardboard (free) to the upper section of the white panels. It is what I did to my pen and it has served me well.

[secuono]

Posted By Petzy on 01/10/2011 02:48 PM
it would not cost you to use some extra wire, which you must have left over from building their wire hutches, to reinforce the white section where it attaches to the black panels.

You can increase the height by wiring panels of cardboard (free) to the upper section of the white panels. It is what I did to my pen and it has served me well.

 

I’m not understanding why I would need to do this.

And there’s only 1.5ft left of the wire.

 

 

I left an inch of wire on 3 sides where it would connect to the white floor. It also curves over so the white ‘sits’ on the hardware cloth. I used thick fence wire to attach it, roughly every 3-4in. Most of the cage is actually made from the fence wire. I bought J clips thinking they would be easy to put on, turned out to be about the same. Ended up going back to the wire.

[Deleted User]

I was talking about your exercise pen. It has a white section to the left in the picture that you posted. This section looks weaker than the rest. Wiring it tightly to the black section of the pen would give it greater strength and increasaing its height would keep lionheads from jumping out.

[secuono]

Posted By Petzy on 01/10/2011 03:29 PM
I was talking about your exercise pen. It has a white section to the left in the picture that you posted. This section looks weaker than the rest. Wiring it tightly to the black section of the pen would give it greater strength and increasaing its height would keep lionheads from jumping out.

 

Ah, ok. That’s tied using fence wire to the black kennel panels.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

I know there’s been a lot of stress concerning your situation, Secuono, and I believe that this has led to what appear to be some angry posts.

I think the main issue here is that many of the regular posters on this site take animal care extremely seriously and some of them are getting the impression that you do not. I’ve followed your posts for some time and seen some discrepancies that have come to my attention.

For instance, you don’t feel you have enough money to spay and neuter your animals and give them larger cages, but you have 2 dogs, 2 cats, 3 aquariums, 33-34 chickens, 4 rabbits, and are considering 2 miniature horses for the future.

You have also given your dogs as a reason that your rabbits can’t live inside, and you’ve said that you always supervise when your dogs are in the same room as the rabbits. But in a previous post you mentioned that the dogs sleep in the garage where the rabbits live.

This same garage is the one where you have had problems with water freezing in the past, but in your picture I saw no way for the rabbits to retreat from the cold. For instance, there are no blankets, and they are not bonded so they won’t be able to huddle together and keep themselves warm.

I hope that they will correct me if I am wrong, but many of our members appear not to believe that you are giving these rabbits the care and attention that they need.

I’m not sure what the solution is to this issue. I think that the moderators are the appropriate people to handle it, and please let me know if I can help in any way.

If this post is in violation of our rules, please let me know and I will apologize to everyone involved.

[FluffyBunny]

Personally, Secuono, I think you’re a good rabbit owner. I understand that it can be hard to provide for a rabbit, and you’re caring for five – quite a bit of money and work! You’re not a perfect rabbit owner, but I’m not either.

Just the fact that you’re caring for your bunnies well means that you care about them, and that’s important. It’s fantastic that you’re trying to improve so many bunnies’ lives. I have seen many people who didn’t care about their bunnies, and believe me…I’d never put you in the same category as them!

Most of the members here are just trying to help. I do think that some people are getting just a little too passionate, though. I hope that you don’t get turned away by that. We just love bunnies.

[Monkeybun]

As a person who volunteers with rescued rabbits… I do feel rather strongly about how pet rabbits are cared for. And not cared for, for that matter. A cold garage in tiny wire cages, with dogs who are very interested in them, is no place for a domestic rabbit to live, I am sorry. You say that is how they lived before… sure, at a breeders. Where they are not kept as pets, but livestock.

Please, think about the welfare of these animals. They are meant to be pets, not a fancy ornament for people to look at once in awhile.

[BB Administrator]

Rule offending posts have been deleted.

REMINDER TO ALL MEMBERS: You CAN offer advice. You CAN have opposing view points. You CAN’T insult or demean another member even if you passionately oppose their decisions. You have to remain level-headed, respectful and polite.

My suggestion: If someone doesn’t take your advice and/or doesn’t agree with your advice, then know you have made your suggestion and move on –refocus your attention to another thread. If you suspect trolling, you can “alert”, and then let us keep an eye on that aspect. From that point on, you should ignore posts from members you personally believe are trolling.

Secuono – Our site, and the forum cater to a different type of care than what you may be accustomed to and are satisfied with. So when you ask “What do you think?” in this kind of House Rabbit forum, you have to know that the majority of replies and advice will be to offer changes and improvements that encourage those ideals. We can offer only limited advice for the kind of set-up and care you want, and another group, may be more helpful for your situation. My advice to you is to look through the site. Check out more of what we are about, and if you find something we can actually help you with, then great.

Helloworld!!

[LoveChaCha]

I feel that everyone has very valid points here.

I have, recently been given the opportunity to adopt another rabbit. But, I thought about it and realized that I cannot do that due to my financial issues with my jobs. I did not want to get another rabbit and not be able to afford vet care for her. She has a nice home now and I am glad.

I am curious, if you can’t afford larger cages, how can you afford 2 dogs, 2 cats, 3 aquariums, 33-34 chickens, and 4 rabbits?

[Deleted User]

To show you what I mean by cardboard extensions I looked for a photo of ones I had in my rabbit pen. Ignore the sheet cover, you get the idea. It was a tall sheet of cardboard from a furniture store I attached to the wire panels. It helps in keeping the rabbits from escaping, especially in intact rabbit housing situations, as well as in creating a visual barrier to other animals such as dogs.

[secuono]

Posted By LizzieKnittyBun on 01/10/2011 09:04 PM
I know there’s been a lot of stress concerning your situation, Secuono, and I believe that this has led to what appear to be some angry posts.

I think the main issue here is that many of the regular posters on this site take animal care extremely seriously and some of them are getting the impression that you do not. I’ve followed your posts for some time and seen some discrepancies that have come to my attention.

For instance, you don’t feel you have enough money to spay and neuter your animals and give them larger cages, but you have 2 dogs, 2 cats, 3 aquariums, 33-34 chickens, 4 rabbits, and are considering 2 miniature horses for the future.

You have also given your dogs as a reason that your rabbits can’t live inside, and you’ve said that you always supervise when your dogs are in the same room as the rabbits. But in a previous post you mentioned that the dogs sleep in the garage where the rabbits live.

This same garage is the one where you have had problems with water freezing in the past, but in your picture I saw no way for the rabbits to retreat from the cold. For instance, there are no blankets, and they are not bonded so they won’t be able to huddle together and keep themselves warm.

I hope that they will correct me if I am wrong, but many of our members appear not to believe that you are giving these rabbits the care and attention that they need.

I’m not sure what the solution is to this issue. I think that the moderators are the appropriate people to handle it, and please let me know if I can help in any way.

If this post is in violation of our rules, please let me know and I will apologize to everyone involved.

 

Horses weren’t my idea and it’s something we agreed not to get into.

Feeding and caring for 5 chickens or 40 is all the same, not much more work or $.

The dogs did sleep in the garage, but the little dog barks before she goes to sleep. She barks when the rabbits make noise and when she barks, so does the big dog. Little dog has barked a rabbit to death in the past, so I moved the dogs out of the garage as to not stress them.

What are you talking about, frozen water in this garage??? Nothing has ever frozen in the garage. If you meant at the old house, I don’t even remember.

Rabbits pee and poo on everything, I am not washing ‘rabbit laundry’ seperatly. There is a big blanket over the cages to keep them warm. As there are big boxes stuffed with hay for them to sleep in.

[secuono]

Posted By FluffyBunny on 01/10/2011 09:21 PM
Personally, Secuono, I think you’re a good rabbit owner. I understand that it can be hard to provide for a rabbit, and you’re caring for five – quite a bit of money and work! You’re not a perfect rabbit owner, but I’m not either.

Just the fact that you’re caring for your bunnies well means that you care about them, and that’s important. It’s fantastic that you’re trying to improve so many bunnies’ lives. I have seen many people who didn’t care about their bunnies, and believe me…I’d never put you in the same category as them!

Most of the members here are just trying to help. I do think that some people are getting just a little too passionate, though. I hope that you don’t get turned away by that. We just love bunnies.

 

That’s the problem I always have with Rabbit forums only. Too “passionate”. But that is not what it is for every person, some just keep pounding the same thing down other peoples throats, they don’t know to say it once and it be over with. It’s not like we are talking here, it’s all written down, no need to repeat endlessly.

[secuono]

Posted By Petzy on 01/11/2011 12:32 AM

To show you what I mean by cardboard extensions I looked for a photo of ones I had in my rabbit pen. Ignore the sheet cover, you get the idea. It was a tall sheet of cardboard from a furniture store I attached to the wire panels. It helps in keeping the rabbits from escaping, especially in intact rabbit housing situations, as well as in creating a visual barrier to other animals such as dogs.

 

Thanks.

[RabbitPam]

That’s the problem I always have with Rabbit forums only. Too “passionate”. But that is not what it is for every person, some just keep pounding the same thing down other peoples throats, they don’t know to say it once and it be over with. It’s not like we are talking here, it’s all written down, no need to repeat endlessly.

Hi, Secuono,

You are right about repetitive statements, and I would ask you at times to review your own for the same issue, since you are insightfully pointing out that it inflames people and makes for unpleasant discourse. Pharases like “pounding the same thing down other peoples throats” comes across very strong in writing, and are less polite than what BinkyBunny is asking for in a written post. I think she is requesting softer ways to disagree. And as you clearly understand, advice is given – there is no requirement to respond, take it, or even read it more than once. Miss Manners (who is VERY FUNNY and savvy, by the way) once pointed out that children are very skilled at hearing advice, saying yes, and ignoring it immediately. She wonders why adults can’t seem to do the same. I think everyone is now clear on the required tone of these forums.

How are you coming along with your bunnies’ habitat? Petzy has given the best suggestions for alterations to your set up that would fix up some of the issues – I can’t think of anything else except possibly low pile carpet samples for their feetsies in the cold. Also, pee and poo everywhere concerns me, so I would suggest another try at large litter pans to train them to use them. Ultimately more comfortable for them and easier to clean for you. Bunnies are clean by nature, so given a litter pan they tend to catch on fast when trained and prefer them. Small changes, like a different litter, can make a big difference. (Glad you resolved the dogs in the garage situation. )

If you have any more questions and want advice, just post a new question in the appropriate section (this one was Habitat for example) and just be clear and succinct so everyone knows you are seeking advice and what it’s about. Please be clear that you are posting because you WANT advice. It doesn’t always come across that way, and that leads to confusion. Again, no need to argue if you don’t like the advice. Just ignore it. Thanks. RP

[LizzieKnittyBun]

It must have been in your old house, and I apologize for my mistake.

I’m glad you got the dogs out of the garage. I’m sorry to hear about your bun who died from the barking. Sometimes dogs just get stressed or lonely and bark because they don’t know what else to do.

Like RabbitPam, I would also recommend litter pans instead of wire. Our bunnies basically litter trained themselves. All you have to do is see where they are normally relieving themselves and then place a litterbox there. They’ll just hop in and keep going in that spot.

I’ve read that wild rabbits have a similar routine in burrows. They choose a section for excretion, instead of relieving themselves throughout the burrow. Once you find the place that your rabbit has “picked” then you can simply put a litterbox there. The rabbit should continue to use that spot.

I would also recommend giving each bunny a fleece blanket. You can order some really cheap ones online, and they’re very easy to clean. Our bunnies love blankets to burrow under and even play with, and they can go a long way when it’s chilly.

I hope they’re adjusting to everything and that they’re eating and drinking well.

[RabbitPam]

LKB, the fleece blankies are good, but you can often find a fleece roll at a local fabric store that’s even cheaper than a finished blanket. The best kind is 100% cotton, so if they chew it, it’s not as hard to digest nibbled pieces as polyester. I found 100% cotton flannel, rather than fleece, at Walmart for an incredibly low price per yard. It’s thinner, but I just laid it over my whole floor and it’s warm, soft, non-skid, and a yard covered a huge area. I mean, about $3 total. Then I got another yard (OK, it has cute little pink and white sheep on it ) to swap it out so I can throw the first in the washer.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

There you go! That’s an awesome idea. And one of the great things about that kind of fabric is that stains come right out of it no problem.

I also use old towels that have started to fray at the edges as “bunny towels” that they burrow under and use for sleeping. When the towels and the blankets get dirty, I just toss them all in the wash and they dry very quickly.

I would avoid using dryer sheets, in case the scent bothers the bunnies.

[Lintini]

Posted By secuono on 01/11/2011 04:14 AM

 Horses weren’t my idea and it’s something we agreed not to get into.

Feeding and caring for 5 chickens or 40 is all the same, not much more work or $.

The dogs did sleep in the garage, but the little dog barks before she goes to sleep. She barks when the rabbits make noise and when she barks, so does the big dog. Little dog has barked a rabbit to death in the past, so I moved the dogs out of the garage as to not stress them.

What are you talking about, frozen water in this garage??? Nothing has ever frozen in the garage. If you meant at the old house, I don’t even remember.

Rabbits pee and poo on everything, I am not washing ‘rabbit laundry’ seperatly. There is a big blanket over the cages to keep them warm. As there are big boxes stuffed with hay for them to sleep in.

 

 

You made an entire thread 3 weeks ago about your water freezing unless you have heat lamps and how your garage is too hot in the summer for rabbits.

https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tab…spx#211584

[Deleted User]

One thing at a time, Lintini. It’s not summer now, and the water is liquid in the picture. Secuono is trying to make a rabbit habitat in her garage. It takes time to get every aspect of this setup worked out so to jump all over her is just going to be frustrating for everyone. I know when I built my outside playpen I had such trouble working around my weasel problem, it took much time to get every aspect solved.

I think a garage can really work, if you put in an effort. Many rabbit rescues are in garages too.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Petzy on 01/11/2011 08:07 AM

One thing at a time, Lintini. It’s not summer now, and the water is liquid in the picture. Secuono is trying to make a rabbit habitat in her garage. It takes time to get every aspect of this setup worked out so to jump all over her is just going to be frustrating for everyone. I know when I built my outside playpen I had such trouble working around my weasel problem, it took much time to get every aspect solved.

I think a garage can really work, if you put in an effort. Many rabbit rescues are in garages too.

I don’t think she’s jumping all over her, but bringing up another aspect of ‘garage bunny’ life that needs to be thought of, so that we can also make suggestions there.
 

secuono(sorry, I probably misspelled that..!), here’s some suggestions for freezing water:

Livestock Supplies

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30E07C19-7B6A-11D5-A192-00B0D0204AE5&item=22369&ccd=IFP003&utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=free&utm_content=22369

 

Also, as for the space issue, and plentiful space for each bunny, how about instead of making one large communal run, extending each cage so that they each individually have more space to exercise?
 

[Otti]

I’m sorry secuono, I don’t know if you mean to come off this way, but you actually sound like you don’t want advice. You ask what we think of your habitat in your first post, but when we tell you, you either attack people who give you advice, retaliate with excuses that contradict each other, or simply ignore what is being said.

It seem you just want approval for an inappropriate living habitat. The picture you sent honestly completely upsets me. There’s barely room for each bunny with their box and absolutely no moving around in each of those cages. I’m sure you have good intentions and restricted financial means, but with some willingness you can find economically viable solutions to the issues we are discussing.

How much exercise is each bunny getting per day in the pen out of their individual cage? They’re individual cages are smaller than petco cages (around 2 by 3 feet), which are already unsuitable.

Your bunnies are growing, they will need more and more space. It’s okay to keep them in small cages when they are very small (up to 4 months) and in fact works better in terms of making sure they don’t escape/get hurt. But once they reach puberty and then adulthood, they need more room. And your bunnies are already there.

Also, are the bunnies getting any veggies in their diet?

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Otti on 01/11/2011 11:52 AM

I’m sorry secuono, I don’t know if you mean to come off this way, but you actually sound like you don’t want advice. You ask what we think of your habitat in your first post, but when we tell you, you either attack people who give you advice, retaliate with excuses that contradict each other, or simply ignore what is being said.

It seem you just want approval for an inappropriate living habitat. The picture you sent honestly completely upsets me. There’s barely room for each bunny with their box and absolutely no moving around in each of those cages. I’m sure you have good intentions and restricted financial means, but with some willingness you can find economically viable solutions to the issues we are discussing.

How much exercise is each bunny getting per day in the pen out of their individual cage? They’re individual cages are smaller than petco cages (around 2 by 3 feet), which are already unsuitable.

Your bunnies are growing, they will need more and more space. It’s okay to keep them in small cages when they are very small (up to 4 months) and in fact works better in terms of making sure they don’t escape/get hurt. But once they reach puberty and then adulthood, they need more room. And your bunnies are already there.

Also, are the bunnies getting any veggies in their diet?

If she just extended their cages into the space where the run currently is, they’d have a lot more room.  I think that would be a pretty easy fix, and she obviously has the space for it, as that’s where the run is right now.  I think it’d be a great improvement, and not too expensive if she used the materials she used to make their current cages.

 

[Otti]

Yes I completely agree bunnie that that would already be a great improvement. I think secuono is going to say she can’t afford it though. We’ll see when she responds.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Otti on 01/11/2011 12:11 PM

Yes I completely agree bunnie that that would already be a great improvement. I think secuono is going to say she can’t afford it though. We’ll see when she responds.

I definitely can sympathize with being unable to afford stuff..!  Perhaps she could even take the run she has now, and just divide it into 5 individual runs for the 5 bunnies with some of the material the cages are made out of.  I don’t think that’d be too expensive.
 

[Otti]

Hey bunnie! Yeah I definitely agree it would be relatively inexpensive and easy. Secuono is only keeping 4 of the bunnies, the 5th is being rehomed. The only thing is, she would have to put some additional effort/money into making sure that the barriers between the bunnies are both high enough to prevent escape, and thick/distanced enough to prevent injuries from one bunny to the other. This is because all of her rabbits are unfixed and therefore not bonded. She has no plans to fix them and therefore no option to bond.

But anyways this is the last I’m saying on this thread regardless of response. I don’t feel my advice is very much appreciated lol

[Deleted User]

I agree, bunnnie, water temp is an aspect of garage setups. However, secuono here was looking for advice on garage flooring. Again, the water in the photo is liquid, possibly because it gets changed often, who knows.

This thread reminds me of a story of a child who goes to a store to get eggs for his mother. The child only has money for eggs but the store owner assumes that the child wants to bake a cake… so he tries to sell the child sugar, flour and butter too. But there isn’t enough money…so the child gets confused and leaves with nothing because there were too many things put in front of him.

[mocha200]

I think we should stick to her Q. Here Question was “Garage floor living…yes/no?”
 
I think It can be a very good play area! and I can see from your picture that you have a rug and some blankets on the floor for them, and you have some play houses that look very fun for a rabbit. I have made a play area for my rabbits on cement before my buns were bonded too!

I can also see from your picture that you have a nice thick blanket on top of your cages for at night, a big pile of hay, their water bottles are filled, and some spots in there cages to get of the wire. even though your cages are a little on the small side, once you rehome one of your buns you will beable to make your cages bigger. I can tell you are trying to make things better for your buns.

[BinkyBunny]

Posted By Petzy on 01/11/2011 01:11 PM
I agree, bunnnie, water temp is an aspect of garage setups. However, secuono here was looking for advice on garage flooring. Again, the water in the photo is liquid, possibly because it gets changed often, who knows.

This thread reminds me of a story of a child who goes to a store to get eggs for his mother. The child only has money for eggs but the store owner assumes that the child wants to bake a cake… so he tries to sell the child sugar, flour and butter too. But there isn’t enough money…so the child gets confused and leaves with nothing because there were too many things put in front of him.

VERY GOOD POINT Petzy.  Mocha has also made a good point to stick to the subject.  i know that our ideal may not be secuonos but she’s asking for advice about a couple of things in particular.  Let’s try and handle things one at a time and put judgements aside so that some positive changes can be made.  Even if it’s just little bits at a time.

And if someone chooses to ignore the advice, then let it be.   Do not get sucked into the drama of conflict.  There are so many ways you can help and make positive changes and if one particular member isn’t as open to everything right away…or ever, then help another member  who is ready and willing for the kind of advice you have to offer. 

[secuono]

 

You made an entire thread 3 weeks ago about your water freezing unless you have heat lamps and how your garage is too hot in the summer for rabbits.

https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tab…spx#211584

 

Water freezes out in the barn, yes. Water does not freeze in the garage.

I did not say it was too hot, just that it might, I don’t know. I could not get the garage windows open until late fall. So this spring/summer, I will open the windows in the garage as soon as it’s warm enough, but not so late that the wood expands and seals them shut. We have very old wood windows, doors, etc. It swells and becomes stuck in warm weather.

[secuono]

Posted By Otti on 01/11/2011 11:52 AM
I’m sorry secuono, I don’t know if you mean to come off this way, but you actually sound like you don’t want advice. You ask what we think of your habitat in your first post, but when we tell you, you either attack people who give you advice, retaliate with excuses that contradict each other, or simply ignore what is being said.

It seem you just want approval for an inappropriate living habitat. The picture you sent honestly completely upsets me. There’s barely room for each bunny with their box and absolutely no moving around in each of those cages. I’m sure you have good intentions and restricted financial means, but with some willingness you can find economically viable solutions to the issues we are discussing.

How much exercise is each bunny getting per day in the pen out of their individual cage? They’re individual cages are smaller than petco cages (around 2 by 3 feet), which are already unsuitable.

Your bunnies are growing, they will need more and more space. It’s okay to keep them in small cages when they are very small (up to 4 months) and in fact works better in terms of making sure they don’t escape/get hurt. But once they reach puberty and then adulthood, they need more room. And your bunnies are already there.

Also, are the bunnies getting any veggies in their diet?

 

If rabbit cages are too small yet they get time out, how can you accept anyone with a dog who stays in his/her crate until the owner gets home to let them out.

2-3pm until 7pm the time out is split between the rabbits. Weekends, 9am-7pm time is split up.

[secuono]

Posted By bunnnnnnie! on 01/11/2011 12:02 PM

Posted By Otti on 01/11/2011 11:52 AM
I’m sorry secuono, I don’t know if you mean to come off this way, but you actually sound like you don’t want advice. You ask what we think of your habitat in your first post, but when we tell you, you either attack people who give you advice, retaliate with excuses that contradict each other, or simply ignore what is being said.

It seem you just want approval for an inappropriate living habitat. The picture you sent honestly completely upsets me. There’s barely room for each bunny with their box and absolutely no moving around in each of those cages. I’m sure you have good intentions and restricted financial means, but with some willingness you can find economically viable solutions to the issues we are discussing.

How much exercise is each bunny getting per day in the pen out of their individual cage? They’re individual cages are smaller than petco cages (around 2 by 3 feet), which are already unsuitable.

Your bunnies are growing, they will need more and more space. It’s okay to keep them in small cages when they are very small (up to 4 months) and in fact works better in terms of making sure they don’t escape/get hurt. But once they reach puberty and then adulthood, they need more room. And your bunnies are already there.

Also, are the bunnies getting any veggies in their diet?

If she just extended their cages into the space where the run currently is, they’d have a lot more room.  I think that would be a pretty easy fix, and she obviously has the space for it, as that’s where the run is right now.  I think it’d be a great improvement, and not too expensive if she used the materials she used to make their current cages.

 

 

That area has to be removable in an instant since cars go in if need be, mower, grill, etc goes through there and the space is needed. I cannot make it permanent, how will I get anything in or out?

[secuono]

Posted By bunnnnnnie! on 01/11/2011 12:19 PM

Posted By Otti on 01/11/2011 12:11 PM
Yes I completely agree bunnie that that would already be a great improvement. I think secuono is going to say she can’t afford it though. We’ll see when she responds.

I definitely can sympathize with being unable to afford stuff..!  Perhaps she could even take the run she has now, and just divide it into 5 individual runs for the 5 bunnies with some of the material the cages are made out of.  I don’t think that’d be too expensive.
 

 

If I did that, everyone here would take the bullet train down my throat that it’s not “wide enoug, not long enough not w/e”.

 

 

 

 

Someone else mentioned making the cage itself bigger. After Cricket goes to her new home Friday, each bunny will get an extra 1ft of space. Later when it’s warmer, I will get more wire and another shelf to make the cages 3ft by 3ft. It will not be expanded more than that, so please do not tell me it needs to be larger. It can’t and won’t be larger.

When the aquariums are out of the garage, I could possibly move the cage row to where the tanks are now, then the run can be 2x larger if not a little more.

All this is later in the future, not now.

[secuono]

Posted By Petzy on 01/11/2011 01:11 PM
I agree, bunnnie, water temp is an aspect of garage setups. However, secuono here was looking for advice on garage flooring. Again, the water in the photo is liquid, possibly because it gets changed often, who knows.

This thread reminds me of a story of a child who goes to a store to get eggs for his mother. The child only has money for eggs but the store owner assumes that the child wants to bake a cake… so he tries to sell the child sugar, flour and butter too. But there isn’t enough money…so the child gets confused and leaves with nothing because there were too many things put in front of him.

 

These little stories of y’alls are offensive, stop it!

[secuono]

Posted By mocha200 on 01/11/2011 01:35 PM

I think we should stick to her Q. Here Question was “Garage floor living…yes/no?”
 
I think It can be a very good play area! and I can see from your picture that you have a rug and some blankets on the floor for them, and you have some play houses that look very fun for a rabbit. I have made a play area for my rabbits on cement before my buns were bonded too!

I can also see from your picture that you have a nice thick blanket on top of your cages for at night, a big pile of hay, their water bottles are filled, and some spots in there cages to get of the wire. even though your cages are a little on the small side, once you rehome one of your buns you will beable to make your cages bigger. I can tell you are trying to make things better for your buns.

 

Thank you.

[Kafrn]

Secuono, I just wanted to show you ou bunny setup here. They are in my Garage, which is joined to a large entertainment area which joins onto the house.
We have 6 bunnies, so made 2 large pens, as half are bonded, we have 4 in one pen at the moment, and 2 in the other pen.
Please excuse their lack of toys, I am halfway through cleaning them this morning when I took this picture
It was really cheap to make, and although we dont use this area to park our cars (as we have another garage also), we have made it so that if we ever needed to park in here there is still room.
The pens are 5m long by 1m wide. they slide up and down on brackets on the shelf, so when I am home, I just lift up one side of the pen and they can come out and have full run of the whole area and doors to the house etc. Its a really really simple set up, and their pens are large enough so that they still get excercise when I am at work. 
Their total run space when in their pens is 10 metres square, and when I am home they have about 90m square.

 

[secuono]

Posted By Kafrn on 01/11/2011 03:16 PM

Secuono, I just wanted to show you ou bunny setup here. They are in my Garage, which is joined to a large entertainment area which joins onto the house.
We have 6 bunnies, so made 2 large pens, as half are bonded, we have 4 in one pen at the moment, and 2 in the other pen.
Please excuse their lack of toys, I am halfway through cleaning them this morning when I took this picture
It was really cheap to make, and although we dont use this area to park our cars (as we have another garage also), we have made it so that if we ever needed to park in here there is still room.
The pens are 5m long by 1m wide. they slide up and down on brackets on the shelf, so when I am home, I just lift up one side of the pen and they can come out and have full run of the whole area and doors to the house etc. Its a really really simple set up, and their pens are large enough so that they still get excercise when I am at work. 
Their total run space when in their pens is 10 metres square, and when I am home they have about 90m square.

 

 

Wow, what an insanly cool garage!

[Kafrn]

Thank you. Our bunnies are on pavers and carpet rugs. So cement and rugs in your garage are pretty much the same
I thought perhaps you may be able to use the plans to construct something similar in your garage? You already have a lot of the equipment such as fencing etc so it would be pretty easy. It would look great too with the wood panelling behind it .

[BB Administrator]

Posted By secuono on 01/11/2011 02:49 PM

Posted By Petzy on 01/11/2011 01:11 PM
I agree, bunnnie, water temp is an aspect of garage setups. However, secuono here was looking for advice on garage flooring. Again, the water in the photo is liquid, possibly because it gets changed often, who knows.

This thread reminds me of a story of a child who goes to a store to get eggs for his mother. The child only has money for eggs but the store owner assumes that the child wants to bake a cake… so he tries to sell the child sugar, flour and butter too. But there isn’t enough money…so the child gets confused and leaves with nothing because there were too many things put in front of him.

 

These little stories of y’alls are offensive, stop it!

 

  I’m not sure why that is considered offensive unless you are taking it as if we consider you a child . That was not the moral of the story –

I believe the intention of the story was to let members know not to throw stuff at you that you did not ask about.

I am sorry if you misunderstood.

Helloworld!!

[Monkeybun]

Alot of things being said are offensive… to me not the least of which is you telling us to stop giving our advice. You asked for it, I am giving it. And my advice is: if you can’t give the rabbits the room they need, perhaps you shouldn’t have as many.

[Otti]

Secuono, some of what you updated us with about your intentions did make me feel better about your rabbits. I’m glad that they do get some time out of their cages each day (the more the better) and that you are planning on enlarging their individual enclosures up to 3 feet by 3 feet.

My rabbit’s is about 4 by 4, and he’s out of it 3 hours on weekdays and more on weekends, so in the end your rabbit’s situation would not be that different once you make these changes over time that you mentioned.

The one thing I would encourage though is other than increasing their space horizontally, if you could also make the roof of their cages higher so that they have more room to stretch upwards. You could do this over time as well, and wouldn’t need additional floor space.

Anyways, good luck with the future renovations!

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Admin on 01/11/2011 03:57 PM

Posted By secuono on 01/11/2011 02:49 PM

Posted By Petzy on 01/11/2011 01:11 PM
I agree, bunnnie, water temp is an aspect of garage setups. However, secuono here was looking for advice on garage flooring. Again, the water in the photo is liquid, possibly because it gets changed often, who knows.

This thread reminds me of a story of a child who goes to a store to get eggs for his mother. The child only has money for eggs but the store owner assumes that the child wants to bake a cake… so he tries to sell the child sugar, flour and butter too. But there isn’t enough money…so the child gets confused and leaves with nothing because there were too many things put in front of him.

 

These little stories of y’alls are offensive, stop it!

 

  I’m not sure why that is considered offensive unless you are taking it as if we consider you a child . That was not the moral of the story –

I believe the intention of the story was to let members know not to throw stuff at you that you did not ask about.

I am sorry if you misunderstood.

So we’re not allowed to offer friendly advice unless it’s SPECIFICALLY asked about clearly in the topic?  I was trying to be helpful to the OP, with the heated water bottles suggestion, and making suggestions on redoing the run that I thought would be a cool design.  (I see the OP said it wouldn’t work, but that’s ok!)  I see folks on here all the time making suggestions or offering tips on stuff that’s not exactly what the original topic is about.  But apparently that’s not ok to do? .
 

 

Where is that listed in the rules?

[BB Administrator]

Bunnniiiieee. This is not a rule. This was a suggestion to avoid further conflict. (some of which has been deleted) It was not directed at you in particular

Of course you can offer additional advice if you want to, but it’s also a good idea to make a judgement call about the situation. And it’s not mystery that this thread can be easily flamed. If a member isn’t ready to take on all the subjects members have brought up, and wants to discuss just a few things, then in that case it may be better to just focus on the subject at hand. Is it a rule? No. It is a suggestion to help diffuse this thread and keep peace. .

Helloworld!!

[LizzieKnittyBun]

I think perhaps calling the thread “Garage floor living…yes/no?” opened it up to advice on the setup in its entirety.

In the future, it might be better to ask more specific questions to avoid conflict.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Admin on 01/11/2011 08:54 PM

Bunnniiiieee. This is not a rule. This was a suggestion to avoid further conflict. (some of which has been deleted) It was not directed at you in particular

You can offer additional advice if you want to, but you also have to make a judgement call about when things can get heated or not. And it’s not mystery that this thread can be easily flamed. If a member isn’t ready to take on all the subjects members have brought up, and wants to discuss just a few things, then in that case it may be better to just focus on the subject at hand. Is it a rule? No. It is a suggestion to help diffuse this thread and keep peace. .

I didn’t realize making suggestions will disrupt the peace.

Yeah, I’m going to do like the others and just leave this thread.  It makes no sense to me, I thought it was just a conversation about the OP’s garage setup, but apparently there’s more going on here than I see on the surface.

 

[BB Administrator]

Bunnnnnieee – This thread did start out as a conversation and quickly deteriorated and so the suggestion of refocusing the advice was offered. I sincerely apologize if anyone took offense to that suggestion.

Helloworld!!

[RabbitPam]

Bunnnnieeeee, BB explained it well. Some responses were deleted or edited, so that’s why when reading it now it gets a bit confusing also. As you pointed out, we often veer a bit off topic in order to make helpful suggestions and tips, knowing more members than just the person posting are reading the replies and may benefit from them. But in this case, it wasn’t helpful.

Secuono, we have now answered your question to the best of everyone’s ability, have made suggestions with photo illustrations, and since the post veered off a bit, it’s time to move on. For a new question, please submit a new post. For a post that is not seeking advice, please be clear and polite. thanks.

[Author]

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